The 'teers
They were the three 'teers because once at a conference Orrie had said they were the three musketeers and we had tried to change it to fit. We tried snoopeteers, privateers (for private eyes), dicketeers, wolfeteers, hawketeers, and others, and ended up by deciding that none of them was good enough and settling for the three 'teers.
— Archie Goodwin writing in The Father Hunt (1968), chapter 11
Read more about this topic: Nero Wolfe Supporting Characters